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30 April 2014

I just took this manicure off so I thought I would pop it up here while it's still fresh in my head. I really like textured polishes but I haven't worn them for a while. I think you have to be in the humour of wearing them. They chip a fair bit faster compared to regular polish as you don't use a topcoat. I only have the Barry M textured polishes and one from Zoya but I love the look of the OPI textured polishes. The only downside of them is the cost.

For this manicure I started off with 2 coats of Barry m Station Road (yellow). This is a nice polish, I love yellow and I think this one suits me. It does drag a bit and I needed 3 coats on my non-swatch hand which was a bit annoying :/ Once that had fully dried I added on Barry m Ridley road (mint) using a medium sized dotting tool. I like the colour combination but it was quite subtle in real life. You couldn't really see the polka dots from afar.

What do ye think? Let me know if ye have any good textured polish recommendations! I'd appreciate it :) I really like the grittiness although I tend to stroke my nails a lot which looks fierce odd.

29 April 2014

I wasn't really sure what I could possible do for this challenge in all honesty. I couldn't think of something really interesting that would look good as a manicure at the same time. In the end I settled on a manicure inspired by the green fields. Pretty simple! I started off with a base of Barry M lychee from the gelly hi shine collection. This really does not suit me and it tends to crack on the nail but with some nail art on top I think it works pretty well. It's not something I would use a lot but it's grand!

Once that was dry I added on some polka dots going from big (China Glaze Holly Day) medium (Catrice Acid/Dc) and small (Catrice Sold out forever) On the accent nail I used the same colours but I marked off the nails into a grid using striping tape. It took me ages to come up with such a simple design :P I really like the outcome though, I think the 3 shades of green compliment each other fairly well. I ended up using the hard Candy Matte-ly in love matte topcoat instead of a gloss because it was closer to hand. I think it looks better matte, the design stands out more.

28 April 2014

Sinful colors are becoming pretty popular in the blogging world, probably due to their price (around €2-3) and their quality. The brand is easy to come across especially in Ireland thanks to Boots taking them on board. I think they make some of the best dupes and given the price they are also the most affordable. The only downside is the fact that the company test their products on animals so I cannot buy from them but I have been lucky enough to receive some as gifts in the past.

Orange Cream is one I've had for a while but I haven't worn at all. It's a pinky orange with a lovely subtle shimmer. I believe this came out in the 2013 Spring Collection alongside one of my all time favourite polishes, Sinful Colors Sugar Rush.

The reason I haven't worn this is all down to the formula. Orange cream needed 4 coats on my super short nails. It was streaky, sheer and it dragged leaving bald spots if you didn't take it handy with the application. Even with 4 coats it looked a bit sheer in certain lighting. It's a shame because the colour is absolutely beautiful and perfect for the Spring summer months. Even though it's a cheap polish I wouldn't recommend getting this unless you cannot live without this colour. If you have long nails then I wish ye the best of luck when you are applying it!

24 April 2014

Today I have a bit of a disappointing hugely disappointing polish to show ye. This is OPI I just can't cope-acabana from the recent OPI Brazil Collection. I wasn't really in to this collection but I heard such amazing reviews on I just can't cope-acabana that I had to get it. I love yellow polish but we all know it has the worst formula in the world. It seems like every brand fails when it comes to yellow polish and do you know what? OPI is no exeption to this despite all the positive reviews for this polish.

Here I have on 4 coats of I just can't cope-acabana with an accent nail of Kiss me I'm Brazillian, 3 coats, also from the brazil collection. The formula on this is just like every other yellow polish I have tried- thin, watery, sheer and difficult to work with. It dragged a lot and it had bald spots even at 3 coats. I really don't know how people are getting this opaque in 2 coats, especially on longer nails. I had to cut my nails to the absolute shortest I could get them in order to get this polish to look ok at 4 coats. That's ridiculous! I am so let down by this polish. It's a nice yellow, it's not overly bright and it has a hint of pastel to it, but it's not anything spectacular that I would regular reach for and go through the pain of applying 4 coats for. I'm rarely so disappointed by a polish because I always check reviews before buying one. Sometimes you get caught no matter what you do. It really puts a damper on the excitement of getting a new polish.Cuti-CLUE-les

23 April 2014

The last part of my Born Pretty Store reviews for this month. It took me a while to get around to this. Not for lack of trying but for lack of success in producing a manicure I could actually show ye. I was sent a pack of 3 small sponges to do some gradients / nail art with. I personally love the way gradients look but like a lot of things I'm no good at actually doing them on my own nails. I think this was a pretty successful run even with the huge smudge on my pinky finger. I can't even remember how it happened but I know I wasn't best pleased with it at the time :P

For the gradient I started with 3 coats of Boots 17 Sweet Kisses which is my all time favourite shade of pink. The formula isn't amazing and it can take a while to dry but I adore the colour so I put up with it. Then using the sponge from Born Pretty I added on Barry M Berry ice cream to the bottom half of my nails. I then marked off the nail using striping tape and added on Barry m Rasperry. This was to ensure the gradient would be noticeable (the colours are very light so it was a bit hard to see the gradient). Then just for the sake of it I put on a little stud in the middle of each nail. I topped it all off with a topcoat and that's all there is to it!

For a pack of 3 sponges on Born Pretty you'd normally pay $1.99 but they are offer at the moment for $0.99 so it's a pretty good deal!

22 April 2014

This weeks theme was easy in theory but I found it a bit harder to get it to show up on the nail. We had to do a manicure using both matte and glossy finishes. I don't think I have any matte polishes aside from neons (which aren't really matte, just dull looking) so I made use of my Essence Soft touch matte topcoat.

First I put on 3 coats of Boots 17 Sweet Kisses. Then I striped off the nail and added on Nails Inc bluebell and Barry m Mint green. Once it was all dry I put on a coat of the Essence Soft touch matte topcoat over the pink polish. Over the green and blue I put on a glossy topcoat. Unfortunately it doesn't really show up all that well on camera or in real life unless I stand in certain lighting. I love the colours together but I wish the matte / gloss combination would have showed up. Maybe it only really works if you use a dark polish?

18 April 2014

Neil Gaiman is a a pretty big deal when it comes to sci-fi and fantasy books/comics. I came across his work a while back but I only really started to look into it seriously when I saw that he had written a book with Sir Terry Pratchett entitled Good Omens. To be fair I thought I would review one of his own books and so I picked up a copy of The Graveyard book.

The Graveyard book focuses on the early life of Nobody Owens (aka Bod) who was raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his family was brutally murdered. Definitely not your average storyline! The story covers some of his adventures within the graveyard as he grows older and his eventual move outside of the graveyard where he is no longer protected. Eventually he meets the man known as Jack who killed his family and is on the hunt for the boy that got away.

Throughout the book Nobody Ownes has a good few mini adventures which are tied fairy well into the story as a whole. I found it a fair bit slow for the first 3/4 of the book. I liked the idea of the story but in reality it did nothing for me. I wasn't keen to read the next page and I never had the urge to skip ahead to make sure my favourite character lived (I'm brutal for doing that) The last 1/4 of the book had me enthralled however and I couldn't put it down from that point on. The ending had me in tears as it wasn't your usual "and they all lived happily ever after" kind of story. It genuinely moved me and I had to put the book down a few times to muster up the courage to read on (This is how deep I was into the story at this point!)

One thing I would highly recommend reading is the Newberry medal acceptance speech Gaiman included at the end of the novel. I normally skip them but it was one of the best speeches I have ever come across. If you only take one thing from this review I really hope it's to make it your mission to read that speech, I promise you it is worth it.

Overall The Graveyard book had an easy to follow story line, it had a nice twist at the end that was unexpected, the graphics included throughout the book were a complete surprise and I loved them! I wish more authors would think to include them in their novels (particularly those working in the sci-fi/ fantasy genre) and the last part of the book was absolutely gripping. The speech at the end deserves a read (I think that made the book a bit special to be honest) I still want to read more from Gaiman but I'm kind of iffy on what to pick up next. I had high hopes for this book given the amazing reviews I had read on it but it was a bit of a let down for me personally. If ye have any recommendations then please do let me know!

For my nails I kept with the same colour scheme that features on the cover of the book. I have on 2 coats of Nails inc Motcomb street (deep navy blue) on each nail. Then using striping tape I marked off 3 nails before adding on Sinful Colors Sugar rush (light blue) and Barry M Denim (denim blue) and a topcoat. For the accent nail I replicated the gravestone featured on the cover of the book using white acrylic paint. This is by far one of my favourite designs I have ever done! I'm really pleased I was able to do the cover some justice because it is a beautiful looking book.

17 April 2014

I've some nail art to show ye today. Seeing as the weather is picking up I thought it was time to do a nice fun design but I couldn't think of anything to do. After watching Despicable me 2 I thought I may as well give the minions a go! To make it a bit more fun I decided to add Gru into the mix. I loved Gru in the second film, he's so much fun (especially during the party scene)

To start I applied 3 coats of Illamasqua Monogamous to all my nails abar the ring finger. Then using a mix of NYC Lexington yellow and Barry m Denim I added on some polka dots. For the Middle nail I outlined Gru's face with black acrylic paint and some blue paint for his eye. I filled in the outside with black paint. For the Minion nail I started off with 2 coats of White nail polish, NYC lexington yellow for the yellow, the black is acrylic paint and the silver is from the Kiss nail paint sets. I topped it all off with a topcoat to keep the design from chipping for a few days.

16 April 2014

Today I have one of the new polishes from the OPI Brazil collection to show ye. I'm sure ye guessed from the title that it's Kiss me I'm Brazilian, a pink creme that a few people passed on seeing as it's not all that unique. I don't normally buy pink nail polish but I liked this shade a lot and I don't have a dupe in my stash.

The formula was ok. Pretty standard for an OPI polish. I needed 3 coats for full coverage. The first two were streaky but the third evened it all out nicely. It's a nice bright pink creme. Nothing special but that's what I was looking for. The colour changes a lot in different lighting. The picture above was taking in direct sunlight. It is really bright in person, almost veering onto neon. It doesn't really suit my skintone to be honest but it will look nice as a pedicure so I'm happy out with it. I've had it on for 2 days now and I don't have any chipping or tipwear so far. I did use a coat of Sally Hansen insta-dri on top so that could be helping to keep this polish in tip top condition.

Also the name is awful stupid! Everyone knows it's "Kiss me I'm Irish" so how they got away with throwing this together I'll never know. They must have been struggling!

15 April 2014

Today's Twinsie Tuesday post we were told to pick a gifted polish. I'm very fortunate to have made some amazing polish friends since I started blogging so I had a few gorgeous polishes to pick from. I decided to go with 3 in the end.

I started off with 3 coats of Essence You belong to me (I showed ye this polish last week if you want to check that post out here) Then I added on Barry M Amethyst around the cuticle in a reverse gradient to all the nails but the ring finger. Instead of a reverse gradient I added on 2 coats of Amethyst before topping the entire manicure off with a matte topcoat from Hardcandy. Glitter nail polish and a matte topcoat is the best combination! The glitter looks amazing and you can see the various colours in amethyst far more clearly that you would when you use a glossy topcoat.

14 April 2014

I'm a big fan of polka dots, although I generally prefer them to be linear I thought I try out some more random looks and mix in a few different colours. I started out with 3 coats of Sally Hansen Complete salon manicure in Tahitian Sunset. Then I added on Blue Streak and Aria Red-y, both from the Sally Hansen Complete Salon line. These were all included as part of the Spring Summer collection although 2 of them are re-releases.

I still prefer linear polka dots but I really like this method too! You don't have to be as precise but I do think there has to be a mix of big, medium and small polka dot for it to look nice. The best thing about it is the fact you can mix a whole heap of colours and it'll still look like there was some kind of method to your madness.

11 April 2014

My last little play around with holographic polishes for a while I think. As much as I like them I still get bored with them :P I do have to say that these are my favourite ones though so they still get a lot of love (especially in nail art but they really deserve to be shown on their own)

Here I have on 2 coats of Color by llarowe Beat it with 2 coats of Color Club Cloud nine as an accent nail. The holo in Cloud nine has a stronger holographic effect and it really sparkles in the sun. Quick and easy to do and as I don't bother with a topcoat in case it ruins the holo effect I can pretty much be out the door in a couple of minutes. Although in fairness I always paint my nails the day before I go anywhere to avoid any smudges or rushing and not having time to do them. It's just a far safer method.

10 April 2014

Sometimes I completely forget about the older polishes in my collection and they end up sitting there for a fair while without much use. It's hard to organize polish in a way that you can easily switch them around and give fair use to each colour. One polish I haven't worn in a while is Essence You belong to me. I think I've had this on the blog a few times now but it's always good to update the swatches and keep them fresh.

You belong to me is supposedly a dupe of China Glaze For Audrey. It's that tiffany like shade with shimmer. The formula is grand, it needs 3 coats and it dries in a decent amount of time. This has been discontinued but you can get a dupe fairly handy. This colour has gone a bit out of fashion lately. I rarely see anyone talking about it. It's a nice polish for spring though so I'm sure it'll pop up sooner or later.

09 April 2014

Although I only have a few of them, holographic nail polishes are some of my favourite nail polishes to wear and do nail art with. They are perfect for Spring Summer and if you get the right brands they have the best formulas and dry time. This time I thought I'd go all in and see what the end result was, just for the craic.

I started off with 2 coats of Colors by Llarowe Beat it, a purple holographic. Then I striped off each nail and added on a mix of GOSH holographic (silver) Born Pretty Store hologrpahic #12 (green) and #10 (blue) and Color Club Cloud nine (lilac).

The holographic effect was incredible in real life. Even though the camera toned it down a fair bit you can still see the linear effect. I'd probably use the green holographic as the base next time as it looks a tiny bit out of place but other than that I'm pretty pleased with the end result!

08 April 2014

It's time for Twinsie Tuesday and this weeks theme was pretty nice I have to say. The prompt was to pick your favourite Glitter topper. I have a handful of glitter polishes that I use sporadically but the one I tend to side with most often is Catrice Have an Ice day from the Million Styles collection. It's probably one of the most basic glitter polishes around but it's by far my favourite topper.

Here I have on 2 coats of Misa Bourbon on the Rocks (one of my favourite nail polishes ever) and 1 coat of Catrice Have an ice day. Have an ice day is packed full of small holographic silver glitter in clear base. As you can see one coat covers the nail pretty well. It looks amazing over darker polishes but it's nice over bright polishes too.

A close up to show you the beautiful shimmer in Bourbon on the rocks. Such an amazing polish. Both polishes dry quickly and have great formula. I don't think you can get Have an Ice day anymore but I'm sure you can pick up a bottle of Misa Bourbon on the rocks.

03 April 2014

Ye all know I'm a big fan of the Complete Salon Manicure range from Sally Hansen. After reviewing the Spring Summer polishes I decided to play around with them and see how well they would work when doing nail art. They have some really pretty colours in Tesco at the moment so I'm hoping to pick up a few more in the next while.

I already had on 2 coats of Aria Red-y. Using striping tape I marked off the tips and halved them. I added on Blue Streak and Tahitian sunset and topped it all off with a topcoat. I think the colours go well together! I was going to reverse it and have Tahitian sunset as the base but as it needs 3 coats I was worries it might look a bit thick in the end.

02 April 2014

I am hooked on watching Channel 4's First Dates. Such a fun show! You can tell some of them are just being sly and like hurting people but others are amazing. So far I love Martin and Corrine. I swear that show is like Educating Yorkshire for me. Absiolutely addicted (although they haven't got a patch on Mr Steer)

For today I went for one of my favourite neon polishes, China Glaze I'm with the Lifeguard. This one gets a fair bit of wear! It's so bright and different that you can't help but look at it.

I have on 3 coats and a topcoat. The formula on this is pretty good and I tend to get a few days wear out of it before I move on to the next one. I have to say I think China Glaze makes some of the best bright polishes on the market (although they might not always have the best formula) This is a definite winner for me. I have read on other blogs that the newer neon collection from China Glaze is a bit of a downer with bad formulas which is a shame but sure what can you do! I'll have to stick with the ones I have until the next round of neons pop out. Hopefully they'll fair much better.

01 April 2014

I only have the one purse so this wasn't really a hard task for me :P I've had my purse for about 2-3 years now and it'll get at least another year out of it before I need to get a new one. I like quirky purses that are colourful or have some design on them. I like my purse but it's a flip over one and I'd sooner have one with a zip (I'm awful afraid something important will fall out of my one some day)

For the maicure I went with the inside of my purse which is a black and white polka dot fabric with a brown border. Please excuse the uneven tips. The topcoat I'm using at the moment drags so the whole manicure would have been ruined if I used it :(

The polishes I used : 2 coats of Born Pretty store white , Essence Black is back for the polka dots and brown acrylic paint for the tips.